Democrats Propose Increased Tax Progressivity

We are about to find out how the public really feels about soaking the rich and spreading it out thin. Senior House Democrat Chris Van Hollen just proposed huge changes in the tax code.

The centerpiece of the proposal, set to be unveiled Monday by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), is a “paycheck bonus credit” that would shave $2,000 a year off the tax bills of couples earning less than $200,000. Other provisions would nearly triple the tax credit for child care and reward people who save at least $500 a year.

The windfall — about $1.2 trillion over a decade — would come directly from the pockets of Wall Street “high rollers” through a new fee on financial transactions, and from the top 1 percent of earners, who would lose billions of dollars in lucrative tax breaks.

The proposal is complicated, read the whole article.

I read the alleged news article by Lori Montgomery (yes that Lori Montgomery) and Paul Kane as an endorsement (but of course I like the proposal so much that I would consider a straight description an endorsement).

Needless to say the proposal won’t pass — it opens the 2016 campaign. Nancy Pelosi is definitely on board (no surprise) so it is the official position at least of House Democrats.

For 2 decades polls have suggested large majorities of US adults support increased tax progressivity. Also Clinton and Obama were elected after promising a combination of higher taxes on the rich and middle class tax cuts. But it still remains to be seen how the public and commentators will react to the proposal and the inevetible Republican claim that it is growth destroying class warfare.

Game on.